One of the most common questions I get about training for success is “how often should I spend on my homework every day?”
A lot of trainers will tell you to spend an hour every day, or you won’t get results. I find that this old standby has two problems:
- That’s a really big ask of people who already have a busy life. Being tasked with another thing to dedicate an hour to when you already have a job, kids, family obligations, hobbies, volunteer work, a social life, doctor appointments, and everything else that’s already in your life. Adding on another hour of obligation every day is overwhelming to a lot of folks, and means that that homework is not going to get done.
- It’s inconsistent. Setting aside an hour for training sets the standard that during that one hour, your dog has to focus and be on task, and for the other twenty-three, your dog is doing whatever else.
I find much greater success for myself and for my clients by doing 5-15 minutes a few times a day. This takes off the burden of needing a whole hour every day, spreads the workload and mental demands across the whole day, and normalizes focusing, listening, and working with their handler no matter what time of day it is or what else is going on.
And if that’s still got you sitting there watching the clock and waiting to be done, here’s another method I use myself. Grab 5-15 pieces of kibble or low calorie treats, and have you and your dog work to earn those 5-15 wins. I think that we, like our dogs, love that “yes!” moment, so being able to say “we achieved X number of wins today!” is huge for our own motivation.
However you’re training, be it an hour right on through or a bunch of short sessions, the right answer is always the one that works best for you and your dog as a team. As long as you’re both making progress and building your bond, I’m a happy trainer!